Near the end of Thursday's workout, a couple of Texans did a double take, having noticed a guy with a flattop who bore an uncanny resemblance to Gary Kubiak standing off to the side, next to general manager Rick Smith.

But that couldn't be, could it? The Texans' head coach was supposed to be down for the count this week after suffering a "mini" stroke during the Indianapolis game Sunday night. Hadn't it already been announced that defensive coordinator Wade Phillips would serve as acting head coach for this weekend's game at Arizona? Wasn't Kubiak, under doctor's orders, supposed to be resting quietly at home, regaining his strength?

Yes, all true. But Kubiak, it seems, finagled a short visit to the practice field so he could show the players he really is on the mend and, barring a setback, could be returning to work as early as next week. Phillips called Kubiak's appearance the day's "highlight," and he got no argument from any of the Texans.

"It was kinda cool, like seeing a buddy," center Chris Myers said. Defensive end Antonio Smith termed the coach's presence "a breath of fresh air. … Everybody was wondering how he's really doing. Is he really worse than what they said? But he was right there in front of us, doing good."

Added left tackle Duane Brown: "It was heartwarming, man. We had no idea (he was coming). It put a big smile on my face when I saw him, and I'm sure it did for everyone else. It just lifted our spirits to see him up walking about. That meant the world to us … hearing he was doing well and that he would make a full recovery. To see him, to have him address us, talk to us, (with) a clear mind and everything, that was comforting."

So who's the poet?

Kubiak, who wasn't made available for interviews, also wanted to say thanks in person for the outpouring of love and support the players had been giving him, ranging from texts and phone messages to media-channel shout-outs to even a schmaltzy but touching poem thought to have been penned by guard Ben Jones.

Not that Jones owned up.

"(Kubiak) was just giving me a hard time during practice," the second-year pro from Georgia insisted, blushing. "He looked to the first guy, and I was smiling, so I guess he just picked me up out of everybody. (He said), 'Hey, somebody wrote me a nice letter,' and he just happened to look at me."

All the same, Brown walked past Jones and said, "What's up, Robert Frost?" And Smith admitted he wanted to get hold of the letter, "to see if it's handmade with sprinkles and stuff," suggesting Jones and a few other Texans needed "to get their man cards revoked" for getting all touchy-feely over Kubiak.

But that was only Smith being Smith, trying to lighten the mood in a traumatized locker room. Few, if any, NFL coaches are more across-the-board popular with their players than Kubiak. The Texans unabashedly insisted nothing would make them prouder than to win one for "Kubes" at the Cardinals' expense Sunday and bring an end to the franchise-record-tying six-game free fall that surely contributed to the internal pressures that brought Kubiak to his knees when he tried to jog off the field at halftime.

The Texans led 21-3 at the time, but they couldn't close the deal again, the inspirational specter of their fallen coach notwithstanding. The story would have no uplifting, heroic ending. The hospitalized Kubiak found out soon enough his team had stumbled again - 27-24 - when the defense collapsed over the final 16 minutes, surrendering three Andrew Luck touchdown passes.

So to a man, the Texans know they owe Kubiak one. They owe him several, actually.

"Any circumstance, he's always going to stand up for us, whether it's versus the media or anybody else talking bad about us," cornerback Johnathan Joseph said. "He's always going to be the guy to say, 'I've got your guys' back.' To see him down the way he was was kind of shocking for everybody. For us as a team, we can't do any more than just go out and play this game for him."

'We've got to get a win'

The gist of Kubiak's message to the Texans, Phillips explained, was that "he missed them and how much he missed being out here. You don't realize until you're away from it a little bit how much you miss it, that kind of thing. And also that he felt good."

Kubiak asked the Texans to play hard and play well Sunday. But not for him. For themselves.

"At the end of his speech he gave today, he told us, 'I want y'all to handle your business and get a win,' " Smith said. "We've got to do our job. We're in desperate search of a win, some positive reinforcement. Getting a win and satisfying our coach, (that would be like) icing on the cake. It's the only thing we've got our minds focused on. … We've got to get a win."